Modern medical diagnostic facilities include a wide range of equipment, systems, and techniques which evolve on a continual and sometimes rapid basis. Human resources, including physicians, technicians, clinicians, nurses, and support personnel are often challenged by the advances in the field, and by the range of improvements which, if properly utilized, can dramatically enhance the quality of care provided to patients. By way of example, imaging systems and patient monitoring equipment now offer extremely powerful tools for the detection and diagnosis of disease and physical ailments which can be addressed extremely effectively if properly identified. Ongoing improvements in equipment and procedures, however, place increasing demands on the facility personnel in terms of knowledge and experience.
Conventional techniques for identifying training needs include ongoing educational programs, and special programs implemented for new and even more experienced personnel. For example, physicians, regularly attend conferences and maintain libraries on improved procedures and techniques. Nurses and clinicians similarly receive ongoing training. Moreover, where new systems or equipment are placed in service, subsequent training sessions may be held by the institution or by the equipment manufacturer to lay the ground work for use of the equipment and new procedures. While equipment manufacturers typically provide ongoing assistance, it would be preferable, in many cases, for institutional personnel to become even more autonomous in their knowledge and utilization of equipment and procedures. Training and utilization guides and materials may not provide a completely adequate basis for particular needs, and vary greatly in their quality and utility.
There is a need, therefore, for an improved technique for identifying training needs in medical facilities. There is a particular need, at present, for a system which will allow for straightforward, preferably automated, identification of certain training needs based upon utilization of equipment and systems and upon data stored within the institutions information resources. Reports and scheduling of training can then be made by the institution, or by a contractor or service provider, to enhance the knowledge base of institution personnel, and thereby to improve the quality of patient care and reduce the institutions costs in providing such high-quality care.